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Before the shapers came, the humans were the only intelligent beings in Tryor. They wandered the world in loose tribes and hunted animals. In the days of the shapers, members of the human race became slaves. They were adaptable and bred quickly, making them useful in almost any setting. Though not designed for any specific task their sheer numbers made them useful. When the shapers left, the human race settled wherever they found themselves, building communities out of whatever was on hand and forming the beginnings of nations.

Dwarves are known to be masters of crafting and architecture, creating weapons of unsurpassed beauty and strength, as well as awe-inspiring structures of a scale impossible for any other race. However, while they trade their weapons openly for a good price, and will occasionally take contracts to design structures, they refuse to become involved in the affairs of other races.

Elves are a race of warriors and hunters. Abandoned by the shapers, they have gone feral, seeking to destroy all things created by the corruptive magic of the shapers. Elves are well known for their skill with bow, axe and kukri, and are known to favor ambushes and guerilla tactics.

Gnomes are a race of healers, alchemists, and engineers. They are known to be compassionate, thoughtful, and curious. Almost all shaper settlements had a handful of gnomes on hand, with the majority of the populations dwelling in the central nation. They served as healers and surgeons, their small hands and sharp senses granting them a greater talent with details. With the shapers gone, the gnomes generally do their part to treat all living things.

On the surface, halflings are a jovial, personable race with an affection for music and art. They roam between the nations in traveling caravans, providing music, dance, and selling beautiful crafts to any town they stop in. The shapers used them largely as jesters and entertainment, but the Halfling race carries a dark secret in their blood, a secret hiding in the shadow of their smiles.

Shadow Halflings are the dark reflection of the halfling race, the dark secret the race keeps. One if five halflings is born as a shadow halfling. Shadow halflings lack the presence and social grace of their halfling brothers and sister, but they are unmatched in the arts of stealth. The shapers buit the shadow halflings into the bloodline of the halfling race to use them as a Trojan horse. On the surface, a shadow halfling is merely a somewhat less charming halfling,

Orcs are a race of proud warriors, battle-hardened soldiers, and fierce bandits. Originally created by the eastern shapers to serve as a sort of military and police force, the orcs have developed a strong warrior culture based around honor and service. When the shapers left, the orcs tried to form a kingdom in the east, but knew nothing of the actual arts of leadership. Eventually, angry and embittered, the orc nation disbanded. Now, the orcish warriors travel in warbands from atop the backs of dinosaurs, raiding villages and taking what they need.

The mechanical creations of the dwarves, the warforged serve their creators as bodyguards, personal servants, and soldiers. The warforged are made off of designs refined out of golems, designed to be more intelligent and adaptable, able to perform complex tasks unlike their mindless counterparts. This intelligence is why the dwarves use the warforged as personal assistants and bodyguards.

Shifters, sometimes called “the weretouched,” dwell in the eastern forests. The eastern shapers created them to replace the elves as their tree-tenders. Created by tainting human bloodlines with animalistic traits, the shifters can take on the power of their bestial bloodlines in a process known as shifting. In the beginning, the shifters could take on more power, becoming hybrids of man and beast or even becoming the beast itself, however the bloodlines have been diluting over the generations, a process the shifter elders are desperately trying to slow.

Changelings are subtle shapeshifters capable of disguising their appearance, created by the shifters of Myralis. Originally, their ability to mimic other races made them the ideal test subjects for the shapers, who would perform tests on them over and over. When the common races gathered to throw down the illithids, many of the visiting armies left with changelings hiding in their numbers. Now, the changelings dwell among every race, some living one life, others living in many.

Goliaths are massive creatures unafraid of throwing their weight around in a fight. Highly competitive, these powerful warriors can prove to be powerful allies and welcome additions to any adventuring party. The goliaths were the first experiment in scaling up humanoids, created by the shapers of the western plains to serve as herd-tenders. When the shapers left, most continued their traditional migrations through the plains, but many others settled down, forming a great gathering place in the center of the western plains around a shaper pyramid.

Raptorans Are a race of avians created by the shapers of Myralis to serve in the crop ring. The main feature that set them apart from the rest of the common races is the large, feathery wings that sprout from their backs and their talon-like feet. The raptorans are sexually dimorphic, a trait engineered by the shapers. Males are larger than the females, with more colorful plumage and powerful, ripping talons. They serve the crop ring as guardians and warriors. The females, in contrast, are smaller, with more dexterous talons and dull brown plumage. They are the labor, gathering the crops, separating them, and maintaining the balance of the crop circle.

Papago are a race of brilliantly-plumed avians from a small, tropical island in the southern portion of Arcas. The papago were designed off the basic structure of the raptorans to tend the island and maintain the tropical paradise the island’s shaper had built. However, the papago were not as successful as their relatives, and saw only limited use among the southern islands. When the shapers left, the papago were mostly unchanged, though perhaps they took longer naps. However, only 20 years ago, the Papago were displaced from their original island home by a fierce, sudden attack by an army of kuo-toa and a terrible storm giant warlord. Displaced, the papago are trying to put down new roots and muster the forces to retake their home.

Chimerans are a race of strange, widely-varied humanoids. An unintentional creation of the shapers, the chimerans are the result of thousands on thousands of failed shaper experiments interbreeding and mixing until their genetic makeup is impossible to predict from one generation to the next. The chimerans dwell in scattered communities throughout the world, though many still live near Myralis, and some ever remain within it, in scattered communities clinging to life among the ruins.

Illithids are a race of extremely intelligent creatures designed to work as organic computers, a network of minds linked around the central hubs of the elder brains. When the illithid overthrew the shapers, the vast majority altered themselves, making themselves more powerful and deadly. However, some elder brain communities refused the transformation, remaining in their original form. These illithid remained on the surface when the rest of their race was driven underground, and struggle to prove themselves different from their brethren.

The baqir (ba-keer) are a race of reptilians created by the shapers of Ferrara. Among the first creations of the southern shapers, they were created by mixing the bloodlines of the native humans with those of the lizards that populated the sands. The baqir are swift-footed warriors and survivors, traveling the ebon sands in small tribal groups.

Hashim are a race of huge, powerfully built reptilian warriors. With powerful teeth and razor-sharp claws, the hashim were created through the same methods that the baqir were, the southern shapers used the giants created in the east as their base instead of humans. The hashim were a success. Used by the shapers as guardians and enforcers, the hashim became quite widespread in the southern regions.